When the Luxemburg-based telecommunications provider Millicom started its service Tigo Cash in Paraguay nine years ago, few expected this to be the starting point of Latin America’s most successful mobile money story.

When it comes to remittances, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have become an unlikely global exception. In April, the World Bank reported that the money sent by migrants to their developing home countries fell for the second year in a row in 2016, to US$429 billion, a 2.4% decrease over the previous year. The decline is remarkable because such a sustained drop in global remittance flows had not been seen for about three decades.

When you are tasting a dish for the first time, it’s a plus to discover new and varied ingredients that go well together. This diversity is found in the rich food of Oaxaca, in the south of Mexico, including “hoja santa” (a local green leaf), “pasilla chili,” chocolate, and chapulines (small grasshoppers). However, it is not easy to find one single ingredient that defines this cuisine.

When we think of innovations in financial services in 2016, we mostly think of fintech. Many new innovations in financial services come in the form of new apps for our smartphones, which make it easier to carry out financial activities such as splitting the cost of a gift or sending money to a friend.